So, we all know that Obama’s Clean Power Plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emission by 32 percent from 2005 level by 2030. It will gut millions of jobs for minorities; increase energy costs for fixed-income seniors (possibly pushing them into poverty), and places a disproportionate amount of the burden on red states. In fact, most Americans agree that their electrical bills will go up, West Virginia is bracing for a 20 percent surge in their prices. So, it should come to no one’s surprise that over half the states are suing the Obama administration over their environmental agenda. States have until September 6, 2016 to submit their blueprints that will accommodate CPP’s goals. Failure to do so results in the imposition of a federal plan that could be replaced if the state in question submits an appropriate strategy for cutting their emissions:
More than half the states are suing the Obama administration over the centerpiece of President Obama's climate change agenda, with the number of business trade associations and other groups joining the states rising daily.Twenty-six states' attorneys general and utility regulators, as of Monday, are suing the administration, with 15 trade groups, labor unions and a host of individual utilities and companies.
Oklahoma and North Dakota are the latest states to file lawsuits after a 24-state coalition on Friday sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its Clean Power Plan, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. The rules were published in the Federal Register on Friday, making them challengeable in federal appeals court.
This is also a bipartisan effort. Coal is still one of the main sources for U.S. energy, and this plan would gut the construction of future coal plants. Moreover, it’s going to force the closures of current power plants, which will spike electrical costs. In Texas, they’re projected to see a 16 percent increase in energy costs by 2030. Twenty-five coal power plants are set to close in Michigan by 2020, where 50 percent of its power is derived from coal.
Green warriors have long said that market forces were killing off coal, which isn’t true. The industry has adapted and restructured. Why? Because the country still needs coal, in which we have enough to power the country for centuries, hence why many describe the U.S. as the Saudi Arabia of coal. It should also be noted that while we’re at the most industrialized we’ve ever been, our air quality has never been better, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
